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IMC FTAA SPECIAL NEWS BLAST | Saturday, April 21, 2001
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A compilation of breaking stories, photos, video, and audio from the
Independent Media Center Network on Saturday, April 21, 2001 covering the
Summit of the Americas -- FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas)
negotiation
and solidarity actions worldwide.
Stay tuned for more coverage.
http://www.indymedia.org/ftaa
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SUMMARY OF TODAY'S BREAKING NEWS
Police continued to confront protesters with teargas and fire hoses on the
streets of Quebec City, while 30,000 labor, community, and environmental
activists linked arms for a march through downtown. From Vermont to Seattle
to San Diego, protesters numbering in the tens of thousands engaged in
solidarity actions along the borders.
Today's activities have demonstrated a marked escalation of police
enforcement measures, including the shutdown of an activist medical center
in Quebec and reports of police harassment of Independent Media Center
journalists. Relentless, media activists have continued to provide
blow-by-blow coverage while under challenging, and sometimes threatening,
conditions.
Statements were released from Vermont and San Diego Independent Media
Centers in solidarity with indigenous struggles around the world for
freedom
and democracy.
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WHAT IS THE IMC NEWS BLAST?
Once again, the Independent Media Centers (IMCs) are reporting live from
the
streets -- capturing and distributing some of the most exciting and
historical media ever produced. Follow along as grassroots media-makers
document and distribute across the Web live and near-live coverage of the
FTAA protests in Quebec City and solidarity protests across the Americas.
At least 12 out of 60 Independent Media Centers worldwide (listed at
www.indymedia.org/ftaa) are posting raw and up-to-the-minute coverage of
FTAA-related events throughout the April 20-22 weekend. We will be
synthesizing the best of this content for you in a series of regular news
blasts.
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FOCUS ON FTAA
30,000 to 50,000 demonstrators have already filled the streets of Quebec,
and thousands more have staged solidarity demonstrations this weekend in
what has become an uprising of opposition to closed and elite international
trade negotiations. Demonstrators charge that these global trade agreements
only serve the interests and privileges of capital, while the most basic
rights and interests of citizens, consumers, workers and the environment
are
perpetually recast as "trade barriers."
As anti-globalization protests continue to grow around the world, the use
of
police-state enforcement tactics has also stepped up, increasingly denying
the basic democratic rights of those who speak out. Hundreds have been
injured, many seriously, as the police use teargas, fire hoses, and
brutality to silence the demonstrators. In Quebec, reports confirm that the
police have shut down the demonstrators' medical center, and the Media
Center has begun to offer space to treat injured activists. Injuries in
Quebec include a 7 month old baby who is suffering from teargas exposure,
and a demonstrator who was shot in the neck with a rubber bullet and
remains
in serious condition.
Rather than thwarting the grassroots movement against corporate
globalization, militant police repression has resulted in more widespread
and defiant demonstrations. Inherent in this commitment is the role of the
independent media activists, determined to bring truthful reports from the
front lines.
With hundreds of media activists currently in Quebec City and hundreds more
participating around the world, IMC coverage is immediate and authentic.
Background information and analysis is available on most of the sites
covering FTAA events to bring you up to speed, along with live coverage
which would otherwise be lost or ignored. This is media democracy in its
most vibrant and truthful form, with a refreshing and captivating range of
perspectives you won¹t find anywhere else.
But the power and success of the IMC Network rests in more than the
individual expression of our diverse perspectives. The IMC Network is
also on the forefront of a grassroots media convergence to which
mainstream outlets merely pay token attention. The uploading and
downloading
of photos, audio and video content by thousands of media activists is
creating a new form of revolution. From Chiapas to Brazil to Israel to
Quebec City, the IMCs put you in the middle of the dialogue.
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FTAA COVERAGE - BY REGION
**CANADA**
====== IMC QUEBEC / CMAQ - http://quebec.indymedia.org/
Police Repression Continues Amid Reports of Summit Cancellation
News continues to pour in to the Quebec Independent Media Center (CMAQ) on
a
minute-by-minute basis as the CMAQ staffers barricade our headquarters with
clothing and blankets to prevent tear gas from drifting into our newsroom.
http://quebec.indymedia.org/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1283&language=english
85 confirmed arrests, 50 unconfirmed
Arrests: There have been 85 arrests confirmed thus far. Confirmation means
that we have received calls from these people in jail. There are additional
reports of over 50 arrests that have been witnessed by legal observers and
the media.
http://quebec.indymedia.org/viewarticle.ch2?articleid=1348&language=english
====== IMC MONTREAL - http://montreal.indymedia.org
Unions March Against the FTAA
Thousands of people mill around the environs of the Human Resources
Development Building of Canada. A large, Victorian building is offset by a
modern steel-and-glass building with space in front carved out between the
St. Charles River on one side and the highway on the other side.
http://montreal.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=536&group=webcast
====== IMC VANCOUVER - http://vancouver.indymedia.org
5pm Border still blocked at Blaine.
The small march (reported earlier) joined with the "official" march
circling
around the park. The border was shut down, as planned by the officials. It
took a long time just to get everyone through the peace arch and around the
park. About one third of the march walked through Canadian customs and then
back around into the park. Then they marched down to US customs. The march
occupied the customs area for about 20-30 minutes. They chanted "sit-in at
the border."
http://vancouver.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=1196&group=webcast
**LATIN AMERICA**
====== IMC BRASIL - http://brazil.indymedia.org
Não somos criminosos!
Depois da violenta repressão que acabou com a manifestação contra a ALCA na
sexta-feira, dia 20, começa a mobilização contra a brutalidade policial. O
protesto pacífico de aproximadamente 1500 manifestantes e que contava com
bonecos, máscaras e cuspidores de fogo, foi recebido pela polícia militar
com cacetetes, balas de borracha e bombas de efeito moral. Mais de 60
manifestantes foram presos (entre eles 38 menores) e estima-se que haja
mais
de 70 feridos.
sangue derramado
http://brazil.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=1118&group=webcast
**UNITED STATES**
====== IMC VERMONT - http://vermont.indymedia.org/
A group of 150 activists gathered today on the US/Canada border near
Highgate, VT. Demonstrators held signs next to I-89 voicing their
solidarity with protesters in Quebec and in opposition to the FTAA and
global capitalism. The rally, which was organized by the VT Mobilization
for
Global Justice hosted speakers, musicians, poets and other special acts.
http://www.vermont.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=795&group=webcast
====== IMC MAINE - http://maine.indymedia.org
Despite police coming out in full force to the Jackman, and rumors of
activists from away coming in and trashing the town, interactions between
activists coming in and locals have been overwhelmingly positive.
Building Friendships in Jackman, Maine
http://maine.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=85
Photos from solidarity actions in Jackman.
http://maine.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=92
====== IMC BUFFALO - http://buffalo.indymedia.org/
Local Concerns and Comments
People gathered at the Squeaky Wheel to find out about the Anti-FTAA
protests. We took pamphlets of information and some of us went to the local
church. One of the discussions were about how NAFTA wants to create a
second Peace Bridge due to the increase of trucks traveling between Canada
and Mexico. Another concern was the toxic waste being dumped in Buffalo.
The
waste comes down from Toronto. There are lands in Buffalo that are
contaminated. Another concern was the job market of Buffalo.
http://buffalo.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=94
====== IMC SEATTLE - http://seattle.indymedia.org
Protestors shut down Washington St./British Columbia Border
An estimated four to five thousand dmonstrators shut down the border
crossing between the US and Canada at Blaine, WA and Douglas, B.C. for
close
to two hours. I-5 and the U.S./Canada border was shut down and travelers
had
to find another way to get across today. Preceeded by a peaceful rally
filled with speeches and music, with Reverend Jeffries being the highlight,
a crowd of close to 5000 people marched from the rally sight at Peace Arch
State Park through the Peace Arch itself.
Quebec's "Black Friday"
Called "Black Friday" by the local paper Le Soleil, Friday's demonstrations
and clashes with police did considerable damage to the image
of a controlled orderly society. Of the two large organizing groups, the
Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC/ CASA) and the GOMM, it was CLAC that
delivered the mightiest impact at disrupting the business-as-usual
arrogance
of the walled-in business and state leaders at the Summit.
http://seattle.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=2838&group=webcast
====== IMC SAN FRANCISCO - http://sf.indymedia.org/ftaa/
Near the indymedia, police are using tear gas and water cannons to push
people onto the highway as black bloc tries to stop them with rocks and
molotov cocktails
http://sf.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=2900
Caitlin, an eyewitness at the CMAQ (cmaq.net) center has given a
description
of riot cops shutting down the medical center down the street from the CMAQ
center. They forced everyone out at gunpoint, guns level and with red beams
affixed, stripping them of their supplies. The police only commanded, "Get
out, get out," if even that. They ripped gas masks off of those who had
them. The police, with no visible identification, had their own riot gear
on
with helmets down. The building has now been cut off from service.
http://sf.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=2905
====== IMC WASHINGTON DC - http://dc.indymedia.org
A gallery of photos from the streets in Quebec.
http://dc.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=8144
Unions March Against the FTAA
Thousands of people mill around the environs of the Human Resources
Development Building of Canada. A large, Victorian building is offset by a
modern steel-and-glass building with space in front carved out between the
St. Charles River on one side and the highway on the other side.
http://dc.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=8253
====== IMC SAN DIEGO/LOS ANGELES -
http://sandiego.indymedia.org/index.php3
Here in California, we have chosen the San Diego/Tijuana border as the site
of our protest. Thousands will gather for a peaceful rally and cultural
festival of solidarity and resistance on both sides of the border. To us,
the border is a symbol of hatred, dehumanization, exclusion, and
exploitation. Why is capital, why is trade, why are products free to move
across the border, but human beings are not free to do so, are in fact
considered criminals and harassed, jailed, sometimes even shot if they
cross
the border in an effort to find work to feed their families?
http://sandiego.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=6062
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LIVE AUDIO COVERAGE
Quebec Radio CMAQ
http://microradio.net/radiodesam.pls
Philly¹s Radio Volta
http://www.radiovolta.org/
DC¹s Studio 2412
http://dc.indymedia.org/audio/
NYC IMC
http://nyc.indymedia.org/audio/
Vermont IMC Radio
http://vermont.indymedia.org/vtimc.m3u
IMC PRINT COVERAGE:
Print.Indymedia.org
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INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER
The IMC is a decentralized network of independent media makers, organizers,
and activists working to increase democracy and social justice by reporting
events and producing information as acts of autonomy, resistance, and
liberation from corporate control.
The IMC was established to cover the WTO protests in Seattle November 1999.
Since then, many media activists have set up independent media centers in
London, all over Canada and the US, Sydney, Melbourne, Chiapas, Israel,
Mexico City, Prague, Belgium, France, Brasil, Argentina, Italy, Germany,
Sweden, with more to come.
Contact information: IMC-Vermont at 1-802-862-0313.
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